By Emily Sallade
Elm Staff Writer
The Student Events Board once again held their very entertaining game show “Are You Smarter than President Reiss?” Only this year President Reiss had gotten stuck in traffic, and he was unfortunately unable to make it, much to his regret.
The show was also moved from the Egg to the Hynson Lounge. Despite these initial setbacks, which included starting a few minutes behind schedule, Dr. Kelty, associate professor of Sociology, stepped in and the game began.
The game was set up the same way as the popular TV show “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”
The trivia questions were designed in a way that the contestants knew the correct answer. There were five rounds with the number of categories varying in each round; one category was always WC history, while the others were all disciplines offered at the school such as Anthropology, and International Studies.
In addition, Dr. Kelty had the opportunity to do three different things: he could cheat, copy, or peak at a contestant’s answer. Each could only be done once, and if cheating or copying was chosen, he must use that answer. If he peaked, he could choose to not use the contestant’s answer. If he got a question right, no one received anything and it was on to the next round. If he got a question wrong, the contestants that got the correct answer received ten dollars.
Once the contestants reached a forty dollar limit, they could no longer play and a new contestant filled their spot.
This year it did not seem as if there would be more than a handful of people in attendance at first, but more filtered in as the game began.
The first question was how many presidents WC has had, which Dr. Kelty got correct.
Every contestant that competed reached their forty dollar limit very quickly. The quickest was freshman Valerie Bardhi, who entered the game in Round 3 and had reached her forty dollar limit by the end of Round 4.
As a result, the game moved along at a fast pace, and there were laughs, some confusion, and some odd little malfunctions here and there that made for a memorable night.
The last question ended the evening on a light note, as the answer to the question was accidentally left unhidden.
“They did a good job,” said Bardhi, in regards to the work SEB put into the event, making it enjoyable for everyone despite the setbacks it faced. “It was really fun.”
For those who missed it, be sure to attend next year. It is a fun way to earn some money, and next year chances are that President Reiss won’t be stuck in traffic.